Bamboo grows very fast, so it is the perfect material for an item that needs to be replaced every three month. Unlike plastic. A plastic toothbrush is used for a couple of weeks and then stays on this planet for several hundred years, since it will not biodegrade. That makes no sense. Switch to bamboo. Plus: You can just burry the old brushes in the backyard.
I switched to a bamboo toothbrush a couple months ago, once my regular plastic Colgate toothbrush was at the end of its life. I discovered bamboo toothbrushes from Instagram ads and I’m glad I did. Before I started this journey, there were things that I didn’t like using and didn’t like throwing away but toothbrushes were never something I thought twice about, since it’s a hygienic item. However, they are made of plastics which don’t decompose for hundreds or thousands of years, depending on the surrounding conditions. Here are the details on them:
Form: These toothbrushes are made of bamboo and nylon bristles. The bamboo, when composted properly, can decompose in 6 months. Unfortunately, the bristles are not biodegradable. They should be removed before composting the handle. The brushes are also fairly straight as opposed to other plastic ones that tend to curve for a more comfortable grip.
Price: On Amazon, it is $12 for a pack of 4. This is $4 more than the toothbrushes I normally get. It’s not a big difference though, considering one pack lasts a single person an entire year. It is a little frustrating because I have not been able to find these in a store, only available to order online.
Fragrance: Not applicable, it’s a toothbrush!
Packaging: This brand packages the four toothbrushes in individual boxes, inside a larger box. The boxes are made from recycled material and are themselves recyclable. They also do not feature a plastic window, while some other brands do.
Use: Before switching, I used curved toothbrushes so this was a little weird to switch to but I was accustomed to it within just a few days. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just different. Other people have written reviews saying their brushes had bristles fall out. I purchased a four pack and gave one to each person in my family and the only issue anyone has had was a single bristle (not a clump of them) on my mom’s brush fell out, but she also brushes pretty intensely. I haven’t noticed a difference in my dental hygiene since switching.
I will say it’s a little disappointing to know that the bristles on this are not biodegradable, but through my research I’ve found that so far the only biodegradable alternative are bristles made from pig or boar hair, which I don’t think I could get on board with. I’m going to try and come up with a use for the bristles but I don’t think I’ll have any good ideas for a while. It is nice to be reminded twice a day that I’m making a difference, even by something as simple as changing my tooth brushing implement.
This is the second brand of bamboo toothbrush I have used and although I am used to the straight back that is standard for bamboo toothbrushes, something about the way the bristles are placed on this one made it slightly uncomfortable in my mouth.
Form: This toothbrushes is made of bamboo and nylon bristles. The bamboo can be composted but unfortunately, the bristles are not biodegradable. They should be removed before composting the handle. As you can see, this backside of the handle is straight, rather than curved like many plastic toothbrushes.
Price: I purchased one of these individually, for $5. You can buy 4 for $20 on their website. This is $12 more than what I would normally pay for a pack of 4 plastic toothbrushes.
Fragrance: Not applicable, it’s a toothbrush!
Packaging: When I ordered this, I did not see a picture of how it came, so I was pretty unhappy to find that it came with plastic wrapping in the window of the box. The box itself is recycled material and there is no extra packaging inside the box.
Use: After adjusting to this brush, I realized why I was not as fond of this one as the first one I tried. Personally, i thought the brush part just felt too big in my mouth. It did eventually stop bothering me but it took a little longer to adjust to than it did to the straight back of these kinds of toothbrushes.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad toothbrush. The fact that the brush felt a little larger to me isn’t a deal breaker, but I did find it a little more expensive than the first I tried and the fact that it has a plastic window in the box means that I won’t be purchasing it again.
Packing to go anywhere can be a royal pain. No matter what, we’ll always forget something and there’s nothing more annoying than getting to a hotel to find out you’ve left your toothbrush and toothpaste in your bathroom at home!
I found that this happened one to many times so I created a solution: my grab tin.
A while ago I got this Dove Men+Care giftsetthat came presented with this study metal…
“We have to pull it. Nothing else is covered.” The dentist would say, looking at me like I should be glad to get even that bit of charity. Tears would fill my eyes as yet another tooth that could have been saved was yanked from my head.
When I was younger, we were riding in my grandfather’s truck when my grandmother tickled me and I broke my front tooth on the dash, leaving the root exposed. The next day, we went to the dentist, who performed a root canal and placed a temporary cap on top. A year ago, I learned that my mother didn’t have dental coverage at the time and that the dentist had provided this service (and many others in my childhood) for free. I can smile confidently because someone went out of their way for me. Although no one should be shamed for the state of their oral health, everyone should have the right to a confident smile regardless of their ability to pay.
Since a normal domestic cleaning session rarely involves specific enough attention to brushes as tools that require cleaning too, your toothbrush is similarly taken for granted as you cover the bathroom area.
Does your breath smell bad even just a few hours after giving those teeth a thorough clean? The truth is you can’t rely on toothpaste alone in ensuring your mouth is fully sanitised. But don’t go out impulsively in search of a toothpaste better than your current one. Toothpaste isn’t responsible at all. Instead, this is a case of poor practices in bacteria prevention surrounding your toothbrush itself.
Since the bristles of a toothbrush are tasked daily with reaching into obscure pockets of your mouth to retrieve bacteria, they become very dirty. While most of us think it adequate to simply rinse our brush with hot water after use, this only contributes to dampness.
While some brushes are stored upright and rely on gravity to relieve moisture, often the bristles of a brush are too retentive, meaning moisture remains trapped, even after hours sitting upright. We mustn’t forget of course that brushes trap bacteria through the generally abrasive bristles that are packed tightly together - this is precisely why moisture gets trapped too.
You might want to check the interior of that bathroom cupboard as well since it’s likely become a microbial hub of dampness, mildew and rust through moisture build up. Indeed, if damp toothbrushes are stored there, they will transmit microbes. Any toothbrush stored in such an air deprived space will only get worn down by microbes, compromising the abrasiveness and shape of those bristles and transmitting harmful bacteria into your mouth with every clean.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to go about disinfecting your toothbrush:
1 - Disinfect your toothbrush on a sunny day
First of all, it’s best to perform these steps on a sunlit morning or afternoon in order to take advantage of the sun’s pure restorative goodness.
2 - Make up an all-organic cleaning solution
Grab a clean porcelain mug, even if it’s not technically spotless. This is because the solution about to be described is capable of cleaning both your mug and toothbrush at the same time.
3 - Apply the solution
Proceed to pour 75% baking soda and 25% vinegar into the mug before stirring with your toothbrush thoroughly. Spend a good 2 minutes going around repeatedly before placing your submerged toothbrush and mug on a sunlit windowsill, preferably away from a moisture-ridden room like the kitchen.
Having identified already that moisture gets trapped by bristles, it may seem naive to then submerge the toothbrush in a liquid solution. In this case however, our liquid solution contains absorbent properties found in the baking soda, meaning that what first appears as entirely liquid is actually absorbed into solid form later on.
4 - Sit for an hour
Let the mug and toothbrush soak up sun rays for an hour as they sit on a sun-lit shelf.
5 - Pour mix away
Pour the baking soda and vinegar mix down the sink as you rinse out the mug and toothbrush with warm water. The heat of the water will help separate the otherwise glue-like baking soda and ease it down the sink. Rinse until both mug and toothbrush are spotless and that vinegar scent has been removed.
6 - Store your toothbrush on a sunlit shelf
Store your brush away from the bathroom and on a sun-filled surface elsewhere. Your bedroom is a good place, but only provided you open your curtains at the beginning of each day.
Simply place your toothbrush in that same, and now fully sanitised, porcelain mug deployed earlier before sitting it on the windowsill. It pays to clean your windowsill in advance if it’s dirty. Open your window at every chance too, even if only slightly. Fresh air circulation is so crucial in bacteria and rust prevention, while wind won’t blow away a sturdy porcelain mug like it would a plastic cup.
You won’t find a more novel home cleaning technique involving such an imperative daily cleaning tool. Delight in every toothbrush clean once you’ve successfully completed these steps. Remove ‘new toothbrush’ from that shopping list.
Makena got a new toothbrush set and towel, so I spent far too long getting a good photo to celebrate. I even added in some effects to (hopefully) make it look like a reflection in a bathroom mirror!
Thetoothbrush is an oral hygiene instrument used to clean the teeth, gums, and tongue. It consists of a head of tightly clustered bristle, atop of which toothpaste can be applied, mounted on a handle which facilitates the cleaning of hard-to-reach areas of the mouth.
Over 1 billion toothbrushes are disposed of into landfills annually in the United States alone. $
Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush as an accessory to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it serves as an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from the teeth, assists in suppressing halitosis, and delivers active ingredients (most commonly fluoride) to help prevent tooth decay (dental caries) and gum disease (gingivitis).
After using toothpaste, orange juice and other juices have an unpleasant taste. Sodium lauryl sulfate alters taste perception. It can break down phospholipids that inhibit taste receptors for sweetness, giving food a bitter taste. In contrast, apples are known to taste more pleasant after using toothpaste. $
